Google’s homepage today will reveals a red-stamped design showing two people meeting in a swirl of stars and clouds.
Google Doodle commemorates various important days, from anniversaries of well-known dates or the birthdays of influential people.
Today, it’s remembering the legend of Niulang and Zhinü, whose story is commemorated by various cultures around the world in the Qixi Festival.
Here’s a look at what the Qixi Festival is and how it’s celebrated today.
What is the Qixi Festival?
It’s celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar year, which falls on Thursday, August 4, in 2022.
In ancient China, people used to worship the stars. They noticed that two stars, Niulang (meaning oxherd) and Zhinü (meaning weaver girl) drew close together on the seventh day of the seventh month.
A romantic story sprang up about an oxherd and a fairy who fell in love. Zhinü decided to become a weaver on Earth so she could stay with her oxherd.
However, when the queen of the heavens found out what she had done, she forced Zhinü to return to the skies.
Niulang and their two children went after Zhinü but the queen blocked his way by creating a river between the Earth and the skies, our very own Milky Way.
Moved by the family’s grief at being parted, the queen allowed the family to meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month via a bridge of magpies over the starry river.
As the legend goes, this is why the ancient Chinese could see the two stars drawing close to one another on this day.
How do we celebrate the Qixi Festival?
Also known as the Double Seventh Festival, the Night of the Sevens, and the Magpie Festival, people today exchange romantic gifts like flowers and chocolate with their loved ones.
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With traditions related to the Qixi Festival dating back to the Han Dynasty of 206 B.C. to 220 A.D., older traditions also include demonstrations of crafting skills, worship of Zhinü, and flower-hanging ceremonies honoring oxen.
Throughout the centuries, the tragic love story of Niulang and Zhinü still captures the hearts of Chinese-speaking people around the world.
